Page 50 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
She nodded and let him in. Trixie closed the door behind her as he walked into the room. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve still got bad news?”
He put his duffel down and sat on the end of her bed. She hoped the surprise she’d been working on would help with their lack of room in her apartment. “I wouldn’t call it bad, but I wouldn’t call it good either.”
Trixie let out a long sigh. She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, took a sip, and then offered it to him. He took it but didn’t drink. She sat on the floor in front of him and crossed her legs. “Tell me.”
“I went back to Buford today.”
She blanched. “What? Why would you…” Buford? Where AJ was housed? “What do you mean you wentback?”
“It’s where I served my time.”
She hadn’t known that little detail. But if he served time in Buford, did that mean he knew AJ? “Am I going to like what you’re about to tell me?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know until yesterday he was your brother.” Cayden reached into his duffel and pulled out Peggy’s scrapbook. Trixie reached for it with trembling hands. She hadn’t seen it in years. How had Cayden gotten it? “I asked Mrs. Wynn to tell me about AJ. I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy. You were so upset, and I didn’t want to bring up badmemories for you. She told me everything. I think Mr. Wynn must have overheard us because when I got back up to my room that,” he indicated to the scrapbook, “was sitting on my bed. I looked through it. I saw… When I saw the last article, the one where he was sentenced to life, I recognized him.
“You have to understand that this is a massive coincidence. I didn’t know his last name, and he didn’t call himself ‘AJ’. Everyone called him ‘Tony’, even the guards. I don’t think I ever heard him referred to as ‘Romero’ once. And even if I did, I probably would have never put the pieces together. He looks different. I didn’t even recognize your eyes as the same as his.” Different? Why would AJ look different? Why would he call himself Tony? What was it Cayden was trying to tell her? “I had to go back. As soon as I realized who he was, I had to check on him for you. He’s…hurting, but he’s okay, Trix. His injuries weren’t life threatening.”
Trixie gripped the scrapbook hard against her chest. “Did he ask about me?”
Cayden nodded. “I told him about us. He made me promise to make you happy.”
A small smile touched her lips. That was so like AJ.Whatever you do in life,abeja, just make sure you’re happy doing it.She closed her eyes against the sudden onset of tears. “And he’s…okay? I mean, he’s…”
She heard him move and opened her eyes in time to see him kneel on the floor in front of her. “Baby, it’s prison. No, he’s not okay. But he’s alive. I’m no lawyer. I’m just some ex-biker gearhead, but I want to look into his case. I want to see if there’s anything we can do to get him out of there.”
Trixie quickly shook her head, her chin trembling. “Don’t you think we’ve tried that?Papádied believing AJ was lost to us.”
He reached forward to grip her hands. “It doesn’t hurt to have a fresh pair of eyes look into things, but I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”
Tears flowed freely. “I guess not. Just… Don’t tell me anything unless you’re positive about it.” She couldn’t risk any more false hope.
Cayden put his hand under her chin. “Is this why you asked me what prison was like? You wanted to know what it was like for him.”
Her chin trembled. “Yes, no, I don’t know… I was… I wanted to know for you too. I wanted you to share that part of yourself with me.”
“Trix, AJ and I are in agreement here. You don’t need to know, and it will only hurt you to know. Neither of us want you a part of that.”
“I’m not some girly-girl who needs protection!”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t back down from her ire. “I never claimed you were. But there are some things you justdon’t need to know.”
She made a face and looked away from him. “Fine. Just don’t treat me like a child. If there’s something that’s bothering you or you want to share, do it. Regardless of your need to protect me. I can take it.”
He moved her face back towards his. “I never doubted you could. You just don’t need to. Do you understand that?”
She didn’t like it, but she nodded.
A distance had sprouted between Cayden and Trixie following his confession of his connection to her incarcerated brother. Cayden wasn’t sure what he’d expected. He didn’t think hisreveal warranted them to be closer, per se, but he certainly hadn’t wanted distance. They still worked together just as well, and they made sure to say goodbye to the other at the end of the day before Mr. Wynn picked Cayden up. But those little touches, those hidden kisses, the need to be in the same room as the other even if they weren’t touching… All that had vanished. Cayden didn’t like it, but he also didn’t know how to fix it. He couldn’t change going to jail any more than he could change who his cellmate had been.
Mrs. Wynn’s suggestion to give Trixie time was driving Cayden nuts. “She’ll come around, sweetheart. I think AJ’s attack and learning your connection with him was a bit much for her. Brought back some nastier memories.”
Mr. Wynn even went a step further and hinted that, in a twisted way, Trixie was jealous. Cayden had spent more time with her brother in the past eight years than she had. Cayden had a hard time wrapping his mind around that suggestion, but still found himself wondering if Mr. Wynn was right.
Hoping to brighten her spirits, Cayden brought Geordi to work with him on Thursday. The flower shop was closed through the weekend so the owners could attend an out of state wedding. Mrs. Wynn had been planning on spending the day with Geordi until Cayden had asked if he wanted to come to the shop with him. Since Romero’s wasn’t Geordi’s place of work, Mr. Wynn or Mr. Jones had to also come. They decided that Mr. Wynn would go with them in the morning, and if Geordi wanted to stay, Mr. Jones would relieve him after lunch and then would bring Cayden and Geordi back to the house.
Having Geordi underfoot was fun. He was like a big kid who could easily lift a hundred and fifty pounds. Cayden showed Geordi how to patch a tire and exchange a battery. Geordi even helped him take apart a four-cylinder piston engine to clean the couplings. “It’s like a giant puzzle, Cayden!”
More than once Cayden caught Trixie eyeing them. At one point he caught Jeff’s knowing gaze before the older man winked at him and turned away.
